S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2624
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 19, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. HYNDMAN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Insurance
 
 AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the  insurance  law,  in
   relation to increasing the minimum insurance coverage requirements for
   automobiles registered and/or operated within the state of New York

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 and subdivision 7 of section
 311 of the vehicle and traffic law, paragraph (a) of  subdivision  4  as
 amended  by chapter 305 of the laws of 1995 and subdivision 7 as amended
 by chapter 805 of the laws of 1984, are amended to read as follows:
   (a) Affording coverage as defined in the minimum provisions prescribed
 in a regulation which shall be  promulgated  by  the  superintendent  at
 least  ninety  days prior to effective date of this act. The superinten-
 dent before promulgating such  regulations  or  any  amendment  thereof,
 shall  consult  with all insurers licensed to write automobile liability
 insurance in this state and shall not prescribe minimum provisions which
 fail to reflect the provisions of automobile liability  insurance  poli-
 cies,  other than motor vehicle liability policies as defined in section
 three hundred forty-five of this chapter, issued within  this  state  at
 the  date of such regulation or amendment thereof.  Nothing contained in
 such regulation or in this  article  shall  prohibit  any  insurer  from
 affording  coverage  under an owner's policy of liability insurance more
 liberal than that required by  said  minimum  provisions.    Every  such
 owner's policy of liability insurance shall provide insurance subject to
 said  regulation  against  loss  from  the  liability imposed by law for
 damages, including damages for care and loss  of  services,  because  of
 bodily  injury to or death of any person and injury to or destruction of
 property arising out of the ownership, maintenance, use, or operation of
 a specific motor vehicle or motor vehicles within the state of New York,
 or elsewhere in the United States in North America or  the  Dominion  of
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD04212-01-1

 A. 2624                             2
 
 Canada,  subject  to  a  limit,  exclusive  of  interest and costs, with
 respect to each such motor vehicle except a tow truck, of  [twenty-five]
 TWO  HUNDRED  FIFTY  thousand  dollars because of bodily injuries to and
 [fifty]  FIVE HUNDRED thousand dollars because of death of one person in
 any one accident and, subject to said limit for one person, to  a  limit
 of [fifty] FIVE HUNDRED thousand dollars because of bodily injury to and
 one  [hundred  thousand] MILLION dollars because of death of two or more
 persons in any one accident, and to a limit of [ten]  TWENTY-FIVE  thou-
 sand  dollars  because of injury to or destruction of property of others
 in any one accident provided, however, that such policy need not be  for
 a  period  coterminous  with  the  registration  period  of  the vehicle
 insured. The limit, exclusive of interest and costs, with respect  to  a
 tow  truck  shall  be  a combined single limit of at least three hundred
 thousand dollars because of bodily  injury  or  death  to  one  or  more
 persons or because of injury or destruction of property of others in any
 one  accident, and to a limit of twenty-five thousand dollars because of
 damage to a vehicle in the care, custody and control of the insured. Any
 insurer authorized to issue an owner's policy of liability insurance  as
 provided  for  in  this article may, pending the issue of such a policy,
 make an agreement, to be known as a binder, or may, in lieu  of  such  a
 policy,  issue a renewal endorsement or evidence of renewal of an exist-
 ing policy; each of which shall be construed  to  provide  indemnity  or
 protection  in  like manner and to the same extent as such a policy. The
 provisions of this article shall apply to such binders, renewal endorse-
 ments or evidences of renewal. Every such policy issued insuring private
 passenger vehicles and every renewal  policy,  renewal  endorsement,  or
 other  evidence  of  renewal issued shall have attached thereto a rating
 information form which clearly specifies and defines the rating  classi-
 fication  assigned  thereto, including any applicable merit rating plan;
 and
   7. The term "financial security deposit" shall  mean  for  each  motor
 vehicle  the  deposit with the commissioner of [twenty-five] TWO HUNDRED
 FIFTY thousand dollars in cash, or securities, such as  may  legally  be
 purchased  by  savings banks or trust funds, of a market value of [twen-
 ty-five] TWO HUNDRED FIFTY thousand dollars and an additional deposit in
 an amount determined by the commissioner to be sufficient to satisfy the
 requirements of article fifty-one of the insurance law.
   § 2. Paragraph 3 of subdivision (b) of section 345 of the vehicle  and
 traffic  law,  as amended by chapter 305 of the laws of 1995, is amended
 to read as follows:
   (3) Shall insure the insured or such other person  against  loss  from
 the liability imposed by law for damages, including damages for care and
 loss  of services because of bodily injury to or death of any person and
 injury to or destruction of property arising out of the ownership, main-
 tenance, use, or operation of such motor vehicle or motor vehicles with-
 in the state of New York, or elsewhere in the  United  States  in  North
 America  or  the  Dominion  of  Canada, subject to a limit, exclusive of
 interest and cost, with respect to each such motor vehicle, except a tow
 truck, of [twenty-five] TWO HUNDRED FIFTY thousand  dollars  because  of
 bodily  injury  to  or  [fifty] FIVE HUNDRED thousand dollars because of
 death of one person in any one accident and, subject to said  limit  for
 one  person, to a limit of [fifty] FIVE HUNDRED thousand dollars because
 of bodily injury to or one [hundred thousand] MILLION dollars because of
 death of two or more persons in any one accident,  and  to  a  limit  of
 [ten]  TWENTY-FIVE  thousand dollars because of injury to or destruction
 of property of others in any  one  accident.  The  limit,  exclusive  of

 A. 2624                             3
 
 interest  and  costs,  with  respect  to a tow truck shall be a combined
 single limit of three hundred thousand dollars because of bodily  injury
 of  death  to one or more persons or because of injury or destruction of
 property  of  others  in any one accident, and to a limit of twenty-five
 thousand dollars because of damage to a vehicle in the care, custody and
 control of the insured.
   § 3. Paragraph 1 of subsection (f) of section 3420  of  the  insurance
 law,  as amended by  section 19 of part III of chapter 59 of the laws of
 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   (1) No policy insuring against loss resulting from  liability  imposed
 by law for bodily injury or death suffered by any natural person arising
 out  of  the  ownership,  maintenance  and  use of a motor vehicle or an
 altered motor vehicle commonly referred  to  as  a  "stretch  limousine"
 having  a seating capacity of eight or more passengers used in the busi-
 ness of carrying or transporting passengers for  hire,  by  the  insured
 shall  be  issued  or delivered by any authorized insurer upon any motor
 vehicle or an altered motor vehicle commonly referred to as  a  "stretch
 limousine" having a seating capacity of eight or more passengers used in
 the business of carrying or transporting passengers for hire, then prin-
 cipally  garaged  or principally used in this state unless it contains a
 provision whereby the insurer agrees that it will pay to the insured, as
 defined in such provision, subject to the terms and conditions set forth
 therein to be prescribed by the board of directors of the Motor  Vehicle
 Accident Indemnification Corporation and approved by the superintendent,
 all  sums,  not exceeding a maximum amount or limit of [twenty-five] TWO
 HUNDRED FIFTY thousand dollars  exclusive  of  interest  and  costs,  on
 account  of  injury  to  and all sums, not exceeding a maximum amount or
 limit of [fifty] FIVE HUNDRED thousand dollars exclusive of interest and
 costs, on account of death of one person, in any one accident,  and  the
 maximum  amount  or  limit,  subject to such limit for any one person so
 injured of fifty thousand dollars or so killed of one [hundred thousand]
 MILLION dollars, exclusive of interest and costs, on account  of  injury
 to,  or  death  of,  more than one person in any one accident, which the
 insured or his legal representative shall  be  entitled  to  recover  as
 damages from an owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle, uniden-
 tified  motor  vehicle  which  leaves  the scene of an accident, a motor
 vehicle registered in this state as to which at the time of the accident
 there was not in effect a policy of liability insurance, a stolen  vehi-
 cle,  a  motor  vehicle  operated  without  permission  of the owner, an
 insured motor vehicle where the insurer disclaims  liability  or  denies
 coverage  or  an unregistered vehicle because of bodily injury, sickness
 or disease,  including  death  resulting  therefrom,  sustained  by  the
 insured,  caused  by accident occurring in this state and arising out of
 the ownership, maintenance or use of such motor vehicle. No payment  for
 non-economic loss shall be made under such policy provision to a covered
 person  unless  such person has incurred a serious injury, as such terms
 are defined in section five thousand one hundred two  of  this  chapter.
 Such  policy  shall  not  duplicate  any  element of basic economic loss
 provided for under article fifty-one of this  chapter.  No  payments  of
 first party benefits for basic economic loss made pursuant to such arti-
 cle  shall  diminish  the  obligations  of the insurer under this policy
 provision for the payment of non-economic  loss  and  economic  loss  in
 excess  of  basic  economic  loss.    Notwithstanding  any  inconsistent
 provisions of section three thousand four hundred  twenty-five  of  this
 article, any such policy which does not contain the aforesaid provisions
 shall be construed as if such provisions were embodied therein.

 A. 2624                             4
 
   §  4.  Subsection (a) of section 5210 of the insurance law, as amended
 by chapter 305 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows:
   (a) When any qualified person who has complied with all the applicable
 requirements  of  this  article  recovers  a  final  judgment in a court
 against a financially irresponsible motorist, for injury  to,  or  death
 of,  any  person arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of the
 uninsured motor vehicle in this state, which  remains  unpaid,  and  all
 appeals have been concluded or the time for commencing them has expired,
 the judgment creditor may file a verified petition in the court in which
 the  judgment  was  entered  and,  upon  ten days' written notice to the
 corporation apply to the court for an order  directing  payment  by  the
 corporation  of the amount unpaid on the judgment.  However, there shall
 be no right of recovery by a covered person  from  the  corporation  for
 non-economic  loss  unless such person has incurred a serious injury, as
 such terms are defined in section five thousand one hundred two of  this
 chapter.    Such  judgment  exclusive  of  interest  and costs shall not
 exceed:
   (1) [twenty-five] TWO HUNDRED FIFTY thousand  dollars  on  account  of
 injury to one person in any one accident, and
   (2)  [fifty]  FIVE HUNDRED thousand dollars on account of death to one
 person in any one accident, and
   (3) [fifty] FIVE HUNDRED thousand dollars on account of injury to more
 than one person in any one accident subject to the limit of  twenty-five
 thousand dollars for any one person, and
   (4) one [hundred thousand] MILLION dollars on account of death to more
 than  one person in any one accident subject to the limit of fifty thou-
 sand dollars for any one person.
   § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 is shall have become a law.